REVIEW: Holi Festival

Today, colorful puffs of clouds arose over Palmer Field.

Hosted by the Student life Multi-ethnic student affairs at the University of Michigan, students celebrated the annual Holi Festival on the afternoon of March 20th. The event went like this: first, students were checked in and were given color powders in Zipper bags. There were orange, yellow, lavender, blue, red, green-all very vibrant colors. The powder was very soft to the touch and felt good-safe to throw at people without worrying that they will get hurt. People were standing as a big group and jumping and singing along to the music. In this big jumble of people, friends courageously showered each other with colored powders while the more polite people would say, “May I?”, wait for the nod or laugh of approval, and gently rub colored powder as they say, “Happy Holi!”. Everyone’s face, hair, clothes, shoes, all parts of their body was covered with the vibrant colors of powders. I was surprised to see that lots of people were actually wearing white, not the most popular color choice when it comes to going to a place you know that your clothes will be stained, but the shirts did look amazing with paints on them. It was a really pretty color combination, fit for the event’s meaning – a celebration of spring: the season of joy and hope. The energy of youth was blazing as people jumped up and down to music, fit for the name of the festival. Click here for more information about the festival

The weather was nice and the puff of colors was pretty, but that was not the only thing that made the scene welcoming and memorable. Everyone was making sure that the other person was not being hurt by their touch and throw of powder, and this could be sensed so easily. It was a colorful, vibrant, and fun event-even shampooing three times afterward until the foam was not green anymore was good fun!

Lastly, some tips for future participants in Holi Festival:

  1. Make sure that you are wearing the clothes can be ruined – if you don’t want more colors on the clothes you are wearing, heavy cycle + warm water combination did the trick for me.
  2. Go empty-handed – I left my bag and jacket about 30 feet away from the festival field but still got some powder on it. I think it might be from the wind or people picking up their things afterward. If you want to make sure that your belongings stay color-free, it’s best not to bring them.
  3. Glass wearers – consider wearing contacts for the event. I did not know this and went with glasses, and people had a bit of difficulty rubbing colored powder on my face. I thus tucked away my glasses in my pocket, which mysteriously vanished by the time that the event was ended. Oh well, it was fun so it’s all good, but it doesn’t that you will also need to offer a glass for the colorful celebration!
  4. Don’t be shy to throw colors at strangers! They will often very likely smile and exclaim ‘happy Holi!’ and shower you with color powders!

Joann

Snow is so pretty, but a Snow Storm? even better. Likes dramas, but would like to have not too much of them in real life. Enjoys travels and wandering around the city. Obsessed with indie rock.

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